Choosing My Path
by Dracosbaby7
Summary: Ginny runs away to go to a friends house when she meets someone. His simple request thrusts her deeply into the workings of the Order and the battle against Voldemort. Will she obtain the freedom that she wants? Will she find love along the way?
1. Running Away

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters! I am merely borrowing them from the brilliant J.K Rowling as well as a few elements from Kristen Britain.

Note: Ok, due to a fabulous review from Kerichi, I'm going through my fic and spacing the dialogue better and am also using italics to represent her thoughts. I hope that this format makes it easier to read! Chapter four will be up in the next couple of days. I'm in summer school right now and am in class from 8am-5:30, Mon. through Thurs. I apologize for the long wait!

Chapter 1

Ginny Weasley awoke to the sounds of birds chirping and sunlight pushing into her closed eyes. 'Did I forget to close the curtain around my bed? The sun is never this bright in the morning!' she thought before she slowly cracked open her eyelids.

"Bloody hell!" she exclaimed upon realizing that she was sleeping outside on the hard ground, hidden amongst the surrounding trees, sticks and rocks prodding the small of her back.

"_No wonder I feel like I've been hit by the damn Hogwarts Express!"_ she thought wryly as she stood up and began stretching, hoping to relieve the aches in her back. The sun reflected off of her fiery, crimson hair as she twisted her body around. Freckles gently dotted her nose and cheeks, looking like sprinkled cinnamon. As she began to straighten herself up, her big, chocolaty brown eyes took in her surroundings.

"Why am I here?" she pondered aloud.

As soon as the words left her mouth, the day's previous events came flooding back into her memory like a tidal wave. Vivid pictures of her arguing with her brothers and parents made her grimace, while the memory of breaking Ron's nose made a small smile creep across her face.

"Why do they think that I am still 12 years old! I'm 16 for goodness sakes!" she exclaimed. Her temper began to flare as she sifted through everything that had passed between herself and her family.

"_Ginny! I forbid you to go to France with Janessa! You are much too young!" her mother had exclaimed. Her father agreed "Your mother is right Gin dear. What would we ever do if you were to get hurt and we weren't there to help you? We don't want relive your first year again, do we?"_

_Would they never me live down my first year?_ She was now in her sixth year but of course they hadn't noticed. They never noticed her! Not unless she was in trouble, or Ron was yelling at her. That's all Ron ever does is yell. No, _"Morning Gin! How are you?"_ or "_How did you do on your Potions final?"_ He was too busy mooning over his girlfriend Hermione Granger and his best friend Harry Potter.

"Stupid idiots!" she spit out. They never included her in anything.

"_Gin! Ginny get over here!" Ron yelled out as he stormed across the backyard. "Is it true? Are you really dating Dean Thomas!" he asked. "What did I tell you? You're not allowed to date! You're too young to have a boyfriend! Guys only want one thing you know! You're a girl Gin. You'll never be able to defend yourself if he got the idea to try and shag you!" _

That was when she slammed her fist forward into Ron's face, shattering his nose and splattering blood onto the kitchen floor. She wasn't really dating Dean, but that was beside the point.

"The nerve of him implying that I can't take care of myself! What if I wanted a good shag! It's ridiculous! Him and Hermione are constantly snogging all over the damn place!" She began giggling to herself at the thought of them together. _"They do more then that of course."_This thought made her sick to her stomach as a mental picture popped into her head. She needed to think of something else.

After she broke Ron's nose, she ran upstairs, threw her things into her Never-ending bag and ran out the door. She was determined to go to France with her best friend, with or without her parents' permission. The only problem was that she didn't know how to apparate and wasn't allowed to do magic due to the underage wizarding laws so she was forced to physically trek across London to get to Janessa's house. 'I could always floo, but that would mean having to go back home and there is no way in Hades that I am going back there!' she exclaimed in her head.

"_Well, better get a move on!"_ she thought to herself. _"Don't want to waste the day reminiscing on the past!"_

She pulled her brush out of her bag and quickly ran it through her hair before throwing her tangled red tresses up into a messy bun. She also pulled out a bagel and began munching on it as she packed up camp and set off on her way.

As she walked, she began to reflect on how exactly she was going to get to Janessa's house. She had been there a couple times and remembered the address, but had always flooed in. She had no clue how to physically get there.

"_All right. I just need to make it into the next town and then I can ask for directions"_ she thought to herself. _"This will be easy!"_

The "pop" of someone apparating went off behind her and she was startled out of her thoughts. She quickly whipped her head around and let out a bloodcurdling scream when she saw the person behind her.

Thanks for reading my first fic! I would love to find a BETA reader if anyone is interested. Should I continue with my story? Please review and tell me what you think!


	2. Taking a new path

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters! I am merely borrowing them from the brilliant J.K Rowling as well as a few elements from Kristen Britain.

Note: This chapter has also been fixed so that it is easier to read. Let me know if you like it better!

Chapter 2

Ginny's scream rang throughout the forest. Her fear was replaced with concern as she watched the man's knees give out from beneath him, a cry of pain releasing from his mouth as he hit the floor.

She ran over to his crumpled body as blood began to seep from various wounds, staining the ground around him. Quickly kneeling on his left side, she pushed the man onto his back so she could get a good look at his face.

"_He seems so familiar and yet, I don't think I know him,"_ she thought, taking in his brown, wavy hair and tanned skin as she pulled a cloth from her bag and began wiping away some of the blood that was flowing from the cuts on his face.

She was too busy trying to stop his bleeding nose to notice his dark eyes fluttering open and his right hand reaching towards her hand. Startled by the sudden movement, Ginny locked eyes with him and a gasp of surprise left her lips.

"Michael? Michael Corner?" she asked disbelief evident in her voice.

"_You can't be him. You're too old. Who are you?"_ she thought to herself. The man started to chuckle at her confusion but the humor in his eyes was quickly replaced by an overwhelming tide of pain.

"James Corner. Michael's older brother," he spit out, pausing to let the pain pass. "Too bad we couldn't meet under different circumstances. I'm sorry for scaring you."

Ginny opened her mouth to question him on how he had arrived in his present state but was interrupted by his hand covering her mouth. "Don't speak. There isn't much time," he said.

"In my pocket. Reach in my pocket and take out the letters for me," he requested while his hand moved from her mouth to point towards the pocket on the right side of his robes. Ginny did as she was told, reaching over his body and taking the letters and placing them in her bag.

She was perplexed by his request and was unable to hold back her questions. "James, why are you giving me these letters? I don't understand. Who did this to you?" she pleaded.

"You're Ginny Weasley, correct?" he paused, waiting for her to agree with him.

Her nod was seemingly enough of a confirmation for him, so he continued, saying "I need you to get these letters to the Order. I know your older brothers and I trust you to get these to Dumbledore. They're very important," he said, stopping to take a breath before continuing. "Whatever you do, don't read them. They won't be able to question you about them if you're caught."

Ginny was confused by his last comment and asked, "If who catches me? Is it the same person that did this to you?" James simply nodded as another wave of pain overtook him.

"Ginny, Voldemort has grown incredibly stronger. He's going to attack! You need to get these letters to the Order as soon as possible." He paused as if contemplating something and added, "I need you to take one more thing."

She looked into his eyes wondering what else he needed her to take from him. "Take the ring off of my hand," he said, holding his hand up for her. A look of surprise crossed her face when she took notice of the ring on his right hand.

_I wonder why I didn't notice it before when his hand was in front of my face. I must have been too distracted by the fact that he's bleeding to death!"_ she thought.

The ring wasn't extraordinary and yet, there was something about it that kept her from looking away. It was a thin gold band with a vine of silver leaves wrapped around it. Taking the ring off of his finger and into her hand, she inspected it further, noticing that the leaves had an almost life-like quality to them.

James took the ring and placed it on the ring finger of her right hand. For some odd reason, it fit her finger when moments before it had fit snugly on James' much larger hand. _"Must be enchanted,'_ she thought to herself with a shrug.

For a second, James had an expression of wonder on his face, but he quickly hid it. Ginny wasn't even positive if she had really seen it, but was too preoccupied with other things to question him about it.

"James, I need to go get help for you. I can't just leave you here!" she said, watching as his breathing became more ragged.

"Ginny, I'm dying. I've done my job as best as I could and now I need you to carry on the rest of my task," the words struggled out of his mouth. "Whatever you do, don't let them curse you," he said.

Ginny nodded her head and was going to argue with him but he quickly interrupted. "Listen to me, this curse is different. I can't explain it, but I can feel it tugging on me. It won't let me go..." His voice was interrupted as the sounds of people apparating sounded in the trees to the left of them. They sounded close and James began to panic.

"Run Ginny! Run! Don't let them catch you!" he exclaimed. Ginny quickly gave James a kiss on the cheek and grabbed her bag. He grabbed her hand and told her, "Whatever you do, do not take off the ring. It will help you when you least expect it."

She felt his grip grow slack and quickly stood up. The sounds of people crashing through the underbrush of the forest grew louder as they got closer to where she was now standing.

She began to run as fast as she could but knew that they would see her if she didn't hide. She dove in amongst a thick grouping of bushes on the right side of the path and watched as Lucius Malfoy, followed by Crabbe and Goyle's fathers emerged from the forest, just seconds after she had hidden._ "Thank God they didn't catch me!"_ she thought to herself.

"My, my…what have we here? I believe we've found our spy," spat out Lucius. "Search him for the letter. He has to have it on him. He didn't go anywhere else."

Crabbe and Goyle quickly began searching James' body, not taking heed of his wounds. Ginny suppressed a sob as she watched Goyle kick James as he stood up. "Um... he doesn't have any letter," said Crabbe who was now standing beside Goyle, similar looks of confusion etched on both of their faces. _"It must be a genetic trait,"_ Ginny thought to herself.

"What!" Lucius roared. "The bloody letter has to be on him!" he shouted as he strode over to James' body and began to kick him. "Where is the damn letter? Just give it to me damn it!"

James didn't answer Lucius. In fact, he didn't utter a single sound as Lucius continued to beat him. Ginny was confused by how he was able stay silent throughout such a horrific beating but quickly realized that he must have already passed on.

Silent, silvery tears slid from Ginny's eyes and stained her cheeks. She suppressed the urge to cry out or to run over and use Avada Kedavra on the Death Eaters who were now currently arguing.

Lucius bent over and picked up the cloth that Ginny had used earlier to clean up James' face. "Someone was here!" he exclaimed in shock. "Find them damn it!"

They began searching the woods and panic instantly enveloped Ginny. _"If I move, they'll see me and kill me! But if I stay, they'll surely find me! Damn it!"_ she thought.

Her heart began to race as Lucius began walking towards her hiding place. _"Oh my God! If only I were invisible!" _she silently screamed as she shut her eyes and waited for Lucius to find her. She felt Lucius part the branches around her as he searched for her and Ginny was too scared to open her eyes, yet alone breathe. _"Why hasn't he shouted and grabbed me by my hair yet? What is he waiting for!"_

She slowly opened her eyes and was shocked to see that everything around her had turned into a gray haze. "_What the bloody hell is going on?"_ she questioned.

Lucius was looking right at her but it appeared as though he couldn't see her. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her face. If he had reached about 6 inches further, his hand would have been in her face.

Ginny looked down at her hands and almost gasped aloud in shock. Her hands, as well as the rest of her body had disappeared! Lucius, thinking that she wasn't there, released the branches and walked off to meet with Crabbe and Goyle. He released a roar of rage that was soon followed by the "pops" of the three men apparating away.

Ginny released the breath that she had been holding in and began gasping for air. _"What happened? Why am I invisible?"_ she questioned herself. _"I don't want to be invisible anymore!"_

Her vision became clear again, colors emerging where before there was only a gray haze. She looked down and was surprised that her body was visible once again. She wiped away the remaining tears on her cheek and walked over to James' lifeless body. She kneeled beside him and closed his empty eyes.

"I promise that Dumbledore will get your letters. I swear it on my life!" she fervently cried out and placed one last kiss on his cheek.

Shaking away the beginnings of a headache, Ginny then stood up and began walking towards the next town, a determined look on her face. She knew she needed to get there as quickly as she could, so she began to run, never once looking behind her.

Thanks for reading this chapter! Please review and tell me what you think! Did you like it? Who were you expecting instead of James? I'm sorry that Draco is still absent, but he will appear either in the next chapter or the one following it. Please feel free to critique! Any review is a good one! Gracias!


	3. Neverending nothingness and grief

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. I am simply borrowing them from the brilliant J.K. Rowling. The storyline loosely follows that of Kristen Britain's Green Rider but there are major differences, as you will learn as you read!

Note: Yet another fixed chapter. Again, I thank Kerichi for her helpful advice. I love constructive criticism so please feel free to send some my way. 

Chapter 3

The Riddle House

A solitary figure regally sat in a plush chair, watching the flames dance in the fireplace. The flickering light cast eerie shadows across his face, making it appear more sinister and twisted then it already was. The fire's red glow intensified the evil glint in his eyes. He was the Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; the one being whose name struck fear into the hearts of the entire wizarding world.

Voldemort tapped his long, pale fingers on the arm of the chair as he meticulously went over the details of his latest plan to defeat Potter and Dumbledore in his head. All the while, Wormtail silently watched him from a dark corner of the room, embraced by the deep shadows that surrounded him.

Peter watched as his Master began to finger the black stone that hung around his Master's neck. He had gotten a good look at the stone during the last Death Eater meeting and was relieved that it was nowhere near the vicinity of his body.

It reminded him of a black hole, a small space of infinite nothingness. He shivered, remembering how the stone did not reflect light from its surface but instead, seemed to suck the light into the depths of its darkness.

Wormtail was frightened of the reported powers of the stone and the ways that Voldemort was going to us it. His Master and Lucius had created a spell that would steal a person's soul and channel it into the stone.

The stone then dispensed the power of each soul into the wearer, combining with their own powers. The Dementors that were currently stationed at Azkaban had been their inspiration.

Voldemort and Lucius were currently working on another spell connected with the stone, but both refused to reveal their work to anyone but themselves.

According to legend, the stone had supposedly belonged to Maboz, a powerful witch who had been its creator, but had never used it. She had apparently disappeared soon after its creation and was assumed to have died. Her younger sister Viviane, who was also a powerful witch, had vanished around the same time, but that had been centuries ago.

"_How can one stupid rock be so important?'_" Wormtail thought to himself. He knew that he was trying to dispel the fear from his body. Uneasiness had settled upon him and had been constantly tugging at the back of his mind since the moment his eyes had first alighted upon its ebony surface.

An unnatural breeze began to ruffle Wormtail's hair, distracting him from his thoughts. His eyes flew to the stone and widened in shock as the stone began to glow a deep red.

The eerie glow enveloped his Master; giving the appearance that he had bathed himself in blood. Wormtail's former unease had increased to bone-chilling terror that paralyzed his body and nearly caused his heart to leap from his chest.

A cruel smile spread across Voldemort's face as the surge of power coursed through his body and the stone began to pulse with warmth. He shifted his gaze to Wormtail and relished Peter's terror-stricken expression.

"_Oh yes, be afraid. This is only the first of many!" V_oldemort joyfully thought to himself. _"My plan has already been set into motion."_

* * *

The Forest Clearing

A lone bird sang a mournful tune, breaking the silence of the forest. The leaves of the trees rustled as a silent breeze passed through their branches while the sun sat high in the noon sky. James' body lay alone in the middle of the clearing, marring the picturesque beauty of the woods.

A "pop" sounded as a young man suddenly appeared in the woods, a single red ribbon clutched in his left hand.

"Damn Dumbledore! Stupid, bloody portkey! He could have at least chosen another color," he mumbled to himself, pushing his white, blonde hair out of his striking, gray eyes."

"_Where is the stupid prat?" _he silently asked himself as he surveyed the area for a sign of James. A flash of red instantly caught his eye, standing out amongst the green foliage that surrounded him. _"I wonder what it is?"_

He briskly walked over to it, shoving the ribbon into his pocket and picked up the cloth with his right hand. "Why would a red cloth be lying in the middle…" he started, but stopped as he felt a sticky wetness slide down his fingers.

Shifting the fabric into his left hand, Draco raised his wet hand to his nose and was awarded with the metallic scent of blood.

Fear settled into the pit of his stomach as he lowered his hand and yet again examined the cloth. There was a slight difference in texture on the bottom, right hand corner of the fabric. Upon closer inspection, he was able to discern that the difference was due to an embroidered G.W.

"'_G.W.? Who the hell is G.W.? And what the hell are they doing bleeding in the middle of a forest?"_ he thought to himself.

He was unsure of what to do with the cloth and was growing uneasy due to the lack of James' appearance and the silence that surrounded him. James had never been late for any of their meetings and this thought prompted Draco to start searching for any signs of James' whereabouts. He decided to follow the path going left, his eyes roaming the area for a clue.

He made note of some broken branches to the left of him and broken twigs scattered on the ground as he quickened his pace. Upon reaching the clearing, a gasp of shock slipped from his lips as his eyes came to rest on James' battered body.

"Father found out didn't he?" he asked himself aloud. "Damn it James!" he exclaimed as dropped to his knees beside his friend.

James had been the first person to befriend Draco when he had decided to join forces with the "light" side.

The Death Eaters were hypocrites; attacking muggles along with muggle-born and pureblood wizards alike while taking orders from a mudblood. _"Wasn't the point to preserve the pureblood lines, not kill them?"_ he had questioned.

After a long discussion with his Godfather, Severus Snape, Draco found himself trailing behind Dumbledore through the doors of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, the Order's headquarters. He could still remember the shocked looks that were plastered across the Weasley twins and the Golden Trio's faces. The members of the Order were forbidden from discussing his defection to prevent the information from leaking to the Death Eaters.

Both he and James had served as spies for the Order after Snape's cover had been blown the previous year. James had managed to work his way into the Dark Lord's inner circle and reported significant events and information to Dumbledore.

Draco on the other hand, was not a Death Eater but was waiting until graduation to receive it. Lucius didn't want him to have the mark on his arm while he was under Dumbledore's tutelage. He spied on his father, Voldemort's right-hand man and on the Death Eaters in training.

The memory of James' laughing face brought Draco back to reality. His friend was gone and he needed to get back to headquarters as quickly as possible.

He quickly searched James' body for the letter that James was supposed to give him. "Damn it! Lucius must have retrieved the letter after he killed him!" he muttered to himself. "I need to get to Dumbledore!"

He quickly thrust the bloody cloth into his pocket as he pulled out the red ribbon. He quickly muttered the password that unlocked the portkey and disappeared with a slight 'pop'. The forest was once again enveloped in silence.

* * *

The rhythm of Ginny's heavy breathing and the pounding of her feet filled her ears as she ran. A stabbing pain in her lower right abdomen was causing her breathes to come out ragged and she began to slow down and walk, trying to relieve the cramp that had settled into her side.

The majority of her day had passed this way, alternating running and walking. She was in a hurry to get to the muggle town that was at the end of the path.

The name of the town slipped her mind, but she had been there a couple times the previous summer with her father. He had wanted to observe muggles up close and had asked Ginny to accompany him, knowing that she wouldn't slip a word to her mother. It was relatively small and could only be reached either by the path or by the road that led in and out of it. She was hoping that someone would be willing to give her a ride to London.

Ginny was tired and knew that she needed to take a rest. She sat down in the shadow of a tall oak tree and placed her bag next to her. Deciding to lay down, she pulled a pillow out of bag and gently eased her body onto the ground. _"A short nap won't hurt,"_ she thought to herself as her eyes drifted shut.

* * *

Special Thanks to everyone that reviewed! I really appreciate your support and the time you guys take to read my story as well as the extra minute you guys take to review! I know I love it when people respond to my reviews, so I'll take a little time to give a shout out to all of my reviewers! Thanks you guys! (By the way, I've already started the next chapter and should have it out in the next day or two!)

Kerichi: Haha Well Draco is finally on the scene. Sparks will start flying soon enough but I want them to get to know each other a bit first. Plus, she still thinks he's a death eater. Hope you enjoyed this chappie!

Coldflamez – I'm glad you're enjoying the story! I'm glad you've read Green Rider. Isn't it an awesome book? I love it! This story will loosely follow it. There are just a couple concepts that I wanted to borrow. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Pyroyellowfrog – Your reviews always make me so happy! I'm glad you like it!

Midnight-Sunn – Haha It was fun writing it so that everyone assumed it was Draco. I'm glad you're enjoying it though!

Lightning Rain – I had so much fun writing the first chapter! Especially when Ginny hit Ron so I'm really glad that you enjoyed that part. Ron tends to be such a prat to Ginny, so it was fun having her put him in his place! I hope you like this chapter!

Lina – I totally didn't even think of LOTR while writing the first chapter! But there is a long history behind the ring and the wizard that forged it. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

Piracyhater – I mentioned that I was borrowing a couple elements from Kristen Britain. I'm sorry if you took any offense whatsoever but it was stated in my disclaimer. I rewrote it and hope that it was clearer for you.

Jeeths – Hey! I was so happy to hear from you the other day! I'm excited to BETA your next chapter! Anyway, good guess. The ring was definitely the reason behind Ginny turning invisible, although it wasn't for the same reasons as the LOTR. As I mention to Lina, I wasn't even thinking about LOTR when I was writing this. Sorry it took me so long to update. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Chantal J – I'm so glad that you liked James! I loved him too but he had to die. Maybe I'll write another story with him in it. Who knows? I was totally picturing Draco and his goons when I wrote about their fathers. Although, you'll definitely see some changes in Draco. He may act like his father, but he's definitely had a change in his attitude toward others. I hope you enjoy it!

Rosaline Kells – I'm really glad that you decided to read my story. I think it was evident in J.K.'s last book that Ginny was a much stronger character then everyone believed. I really wanted to play up her strength in character and add a little sassiness to her character. I'm sorry the update took so long, but I hope you enjoy it!

LunarianPrincess – Thank you for reviewing! I was so excited when you did! There is a lot coming on the way for Ginny and the ring will help her out quite a bit. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Uniquely-Defined – I totally drool over Draco too! He's just so damn hot! Hehe I hope you liked this chappie!

Also thanks to LilAzNGrL8790, Alexsara660, mem0rycafe, CherryTreeDepartment and PnAyxTrAcKsTaR01 – Thank you for the reviews. I'm glad that you guys are enjoying my story and I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


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